You already know Mukul Sabhani a.k.a [email protected] whom TL interviewed a few months ago. If not then you may refer this article-Meet Mukul Sabhani: The Leader of EvoX . To be frank we just know that he is a famous pro-gamer but what about his main profession? You may be actually surprised to know that he is a highly skilled IT professional from TCS and the level of knowledge he has on systems especially the gaming ones , is completely in a different level. Amlan, the COO and Editor-in-Chief of TL had an interesting discussion with him just recently. If you are a gamer and a hardware geek then you should definitely go through this :

Amlan: Terminator, nice to have you here with us. We would like you to provide us some knowledge related to gaming components and hardware. But first of all can you tell us something about your profession and relationship with building systems?

Terminator: [Chuckles]… I am a Senior Systems Engineer at TCS and like any other MNC we have an American client for whom we handle the complete IT infrastructure. I have built/assembled more than 50 systems myself. To be frank there is no relationship between building a ‘Gaming Rig’ and what I do professionally. It is all about the passion you have and I have that passion for gaming and the technology involved with it. So, I can’t say that because of my profession I am good at this but rather I am good at this because of my love for gaming, latest technology and hardware.

Amlan: Which mobo do you use? Can you mention some of its pros and cons?

Terminator: I have an ASUS P8P67 PRO. It’s a bit of an old chipset but works absolutely fine. This mobo is very sturdy and highly durable. If somebody knows about mobo technology and looks at an ASUS mobo and then compares it to a similar mobo of any other company, he can actually tell the difference and the high-quality build Asus has. The only limitation that I have faced so far in this mobo is that it requires significantly more voltage when you overclock your Processor/Memory even with the most recent BIOS.[Chuckles]….

ASUS P8P67 PRO

Amlan: Tell me about your processor. I hope that it must be a beast! [Excited]…

Terminator: Well the definition of a beast can be very wide but yeah, I do have an i7 2600K and it’s not actually a beast. Rather you can call it a monster at least for gaming purposes! [Grins]…

Intel Core i7 2600k

Amlan: i7 2600k is a 2nd Gen Intel Core processor. Are you still satisfied using it especially when compared to the latest higly efficient 4th Gen processors?

Terminator: [A rare pause]…First of all, I am very happy with my current processor. Secondly, the i7 2nd Gen processors use on an average about 15-20 watts more power versus the latest mainstream 4th Gen Processor aka the i7 4790K. So, this difference though on paper is big but is negligible in a 600w system such as mine. However, that being said that diff does matter in the case of laptops. Lastly, even on an i7 2600k no GPU/Game can bottleneck/lag for at least another 2 years or maybe more. To put things into perspective even the monster game Crysis 3 can’t utilize even 40% of the power provided by 2600k… [Chuckles]. So, even if I do get the i7 4790 which is about 20-25% faster than 2600k depending upon situation, I still won’t be able to utilize it to maximum potential. Had I been into 3D animation or Video Encoding & Transcoding it would have been a different scenario. My priority is gaming and my i7 2600K works absolutely fine for that.

P.S – Make no mistake about it : I have on numerous occasions thought about upgrading to 4790K for showoff purposes you know but then the lure of the 5th Gen 6/8 Core Broadwell processor stops me.[Chuckles]…

Amlan: You do seem to make your point very well. You must have heard of a popular budget processor called AMD FX 8350. What are your views regarding it?

Terminator: AMD [Gasps]… Well it is a good processor, has very good value for money, and gives out pretty decent performance too but then again it doesn’t have the raw power to match any 3rd Gen or 4th Gen Intel i7 processor. Also, if given a choice I would always purchase an Intel i7 Processor but again that’s my personal opinion and everyone has a right to make their own choices.

Amlan: Generally what type of games do you play?

Terminator: Mostly FPS and racing games. I have played many TPS games as well but I don’t like games like League of Legends or DOTA 2.

Amlan: Why a special liking for FPS games?

Terminator: Dude, I am a Terminator, I am programmed to kill..[Chuckles]. I just love to shoot be it gaming or real life…[Chuckles]. So, I always prefer a gun in my hands…What would you rather have me doing: Collect gold?… [Chuckles]

I just love to shoot be it gaming or real life

Amlan: What’s the necessity of using SSD’s for a gamer? Can you please shed some light regarding this?

Terminator: [Gasps]…The necessity of an SSD depends upon person to person. There are people who don’t care about data transfer speed/fast boot up times. All they care about is that the game should run smoothly. Then there are people like me who love to see their systems run at blazing speeds at all times. So, it all boils down to personal choice. But actually to be honest, even a 64 GB SSD in your system can make the entire system really fast. I would recommend it to anyone who is making a new gaming rig now.

Amlan: Now let’s come to the main part of the discussion [Grins]… What GPU do you have?

Terminator: I have a Hulk… the Nvidia GTX 780Ti [Chuckles]… It looks and runs like The Hulk too… [Excited]

780 Ti is not just a beast…it’s a monster!

780 Ti looks and runs like The Hulk too!

Amlan: What do you think about Radeon cards especially the R9 290X?

Terminator: [Chuckles]…The 290X is no doubt a beast , though it’s still a tad slower than the 780ti but then who plays all the games at resolutions like 2560 X 1440. So, taking in account the price difference between the two, I would say it’s a tie. Personally, I prefer Nvidia due to the much better driver support and easily manageable heat levels (Mind you the 290X gets seriously hot). Also, the power consumption of the 290x is about 30-40w more but again I would say that is irrelevant in a heavy gaming rig. Last but not the least: The Flashy Green logo, that is gonna keep me hooked to Nvidia for quite a while…[Chuckles]

Radeon R9 290X

Amlan: There are three different teams that engineer Nvidia graphics card- Zotac, ASUS, EVGA, Galaxy,etc.Whose engineered card would you recommend?

Terminator: [Gasps]… If I had an option it’s gonna be EVGA without any doubt. The components of all the EVGA cards are very good. You get quality service too. I trust this company completely. But as always every good thing has a disadvantage too…. EVGA is not completely existent in India and thus it’s famous after sales service is pathetic in our country…[Chuckles]

Amlan: Between air and water cooling system which one is the winner?

Terminator: The winner will always be ‘Water Cooling’ but it comes with a clause as you need to know how to maintain it, how to take care of it. It’s just like a Ferrari: No matter how expensive your water cooling is…it does require a lot of care. Air cooling on the other hand is your run of the mill stuff. Fix it and forget it….but we do have to make a compromise on the temp levels.

Now a days, many manufacturers have made AIO liquid cooling solutions too which don’t require any maintenance. They may not be as good as the original liquid cooling solutions but they are pretty cool too and you get to say I got liquid in my system…[Chuckles]

Amlan: Tell us something about your PSU and how good is it.

Terminator: I have a Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750W PSU. It was one of the best when I bought it. I have also used CM Extreme Power, Tagan and Corsair HX&TX Series. But I found this model pretty awesome. It is 86% efficient, is extremely silent, runs very cool and has no effect of moisture on it. Even though there are pretty awesome PSU’s available from Corsair now days, I still prefer CM over them because of the warranty and services they provide in India.

Amlan: You have this cabinet called NZXT Phantom. It looks awesome. For a gamer what kind of cabinet would you recommend?

Terminator: [A rare pause]…Honestly, there is no point of a very costly cabinet for a good Gaming PC. You can build a 2 lacs (INR) system and put it inside a 2k (INR) cabinet and it will still give you good performance. Yes, the temp levels would obviously be a bit higher. The sole reason to buy a good cabinet is to accommodate large number of fans, lights and yes, if you like to show off your rig. I agree that there are certain scenarios like benchmarking stuff or if you want to install liquid cooling or say you need to accommodate three graphic cards, then a high end cabinet is required not only for the space needs but for the airflow too. The system needs to stay cool at all times and a low end 2k cabinet will not be able to accommodate all the fans and cooling solutions. For a casual gamer though, a low end cabinet would be fine.

Amlan: According to you which is the best game in terms of graphics so far? What was your FPS benchmark of that game on your system?

Terminator: [Excited]…Definitely it has to be Crysis 3. Having a high end system I was able to play this game at about 60-70 average fps. It ran very smoothly on ultra-settings on my PC.

Crysis 3

Amlan: How often do you overclock your GPU and your processor?

Terminator: I overclock it whenever I feel like doing some benchmarking stuff. For day to day use, I don’t keep it overclocked as mostly my PC is on 24/7. For gaming purposes, however I have never felt the need for an overclock on my current setup.

Amlan: This is the age of connectivity. Internet plays a vital role in everyone’s life…in fact a gamer’s life too. So, what internet connection do you use and how fast is it?

Terminator: [Gasps]…I have an Airtel connection that offers me a speed of 2.2 Mbps and that’s the fastest internet available in my location.[Sighs]…

Amlan: So, Terminator I would conclude by saying that you have a state of the art system but is there any dream system that you have in your mind? There has to be one! So, what is it? [Excited]…

Terminator: [Laughs]…After having this one, I don’t think there is much to look out for considering my gaming and day to day usage. But then I heard you say “Dream Pc”: Well then I would like to add another 780Ti along with a true Octo Core Processor complete With 32GB 2600MHz RAM. Also, I would like to build a custom Hi – Tech Liquid Cooling solution for the the processor & the GPU which will include custom CPU/GPU nickel plated blocks & back plates, pumps, radiators, fittings and with Green UV Coolant flowing through them…[Chuckles]. I would also add a 500GB SSD RAID. A 30 Inch 4k Monitor and a 64 Inch Secondary 3D LED Screen will finish off the build. That my friend would be a ‘Dream PC’…[Excited]

Amlan a.k.a 'Hackassin' is an avid tech and gaming enthusiast who is a content writer at Tech Legends. You would often find him hooked to his PC playing RPG games mostly. Apart from that, currently he is working in Accenture and likes to watch snakes in his dreams.

A pro gamer who doesn’t like Dota, that was unexpected! Well, may be because he plays CoD, which is a type of cancer for gaming industry. Anyways, good interview, keep ’em coming guys.

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4 years ago

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Mukul Sabhani

I am sorry Ron, i did not understand your point here , i mean why cant i be a pro gamer if i dont play dota….people choose their game in sports like cricket/fifa/track and field etc….i chose mine in e sports – i like FPS shooting games..i am equally good in crysis as well…
Even the dota is a very popular game now with millions of dollars coming in..i still feel…that’s not the type of game i can play and be good at…my mind just won’t work in it….hence i chose cod to be a pro…hope u understand.

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4 years ago

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Ron

First of all thanks for the reply. Lets just put Dota aside for a moment and talk about COD. You still play COD4, right? How about the fact that no one supports COD4, neither its publisher nor the developers. Even the Promod is dead. Its Punkbuster is a joke and not even ESL’s anticheat can detect cheaters. The game is basically dead, and you still play it and claim to be a pro gamer. Now look at other e-sports games like CS:GO, Dota, LoL and Starcraft. They are still alive because of their developers who continuously develop patches and new… Read more »

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4 years ago

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Mukul Sabhani

Sorry To Reply after such a long time. Yes, I still play COD, COD4 to be Precised. Sorry to say this but bro i find your entire logic flawed. It’s like asking every athlete in India to play Cricket because only that sport has serious money involved even tho Cricket is played by only 25 odd countries (Mind u this is coming from a guy for whom Cricket is a Religion & Sachin is a God). If everyone did that we would have no one representing India at Olympics and other sports. Yes I Agree COD4 is Dead online, very… Read more »

Well said, Terminator. COD 4 is a well balanced FPS game for professional tournies.I love COD 4 very much….have completed the main campaign thrice…..once in hardened mode and twice in veteran mode….this game has so much potential that we can’t even imagine…the gameplay…the fluidity…the weapons and their firing mechanism….I don’t understand why…India is still stuck at CS….and people of our country still play that traditional game…

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4 years ago

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Siddhant Pati

Thats the exact system i assembled myself in 2011.I think I was the first to get the p8z68 v pro in odisha and with a 2600k i rule games even afterv4 years along with my 6970Dcuii.I sharpen myself with Unreal tournament 98&ut3 to till this day.COD MW 2 i think has all the spices for a fps lover.Will upgrade my gpu coming year.Then I think I will desgn myself a desk pc.Amlan do check my fb pics of my rig.Eats most games for breakfast even today.